


Bleeding idiots are good fortune

by lisatheredfox



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff, My First AO3 Post, Slow Burn, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Therapy, kind of?, most of the characters are only mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 19:15:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7813855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lisatheredfox/pseuds/lisatheredfox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Why is he bleeding?"<br/>"Because he's an idiot"<br/>"I didn't know that idiocy caused people to just start spontaneously bleeding from their nose."<br/>"I think it's a new phenomenon."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bleeding idiots are good fortune

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SimplySolace](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplySolace/gifts).



_"Because he's an idiot."_

  
Those words had marred Bucky's skin since birth, as all soulmarks did. It really set the tone for his life, especially after he met Steve Rogers, who, simply put, was an idiot. A tiny ball of blond fury, running headfirst into every fight he came across. Realising that, Bucky stuck around, pulling him out and kicking ass when needed, as he knew the small boy wouldn't last long in the world without him. And if he caused him to meet his soulmate, well, that was just a big plus, wasn't it?

  
*********

  
_"Why is he bleeding?"_

  
Darcy had been born with those words, but she honestly hadn't paid much attention to them. Sure, there was a time where she was obsessed with being around bleeding people, but she quickly realised how creepy that was and got over it. So maybe she still made sure to have a first aid kit, however small, with her wherever she went, but that was just to make sure that whoever her soulmate was talking about didn't bleed to death. However, when your parents weren't soulmates but instead lead the local anti-soulmarks movement, you learned to keep any thoughts and feelings about your own under wraps.

  
Sure, the movement had it's good sides, fighting for second chances for people whose soulmates died, or who were stuck in an abusive relationship, but her parents mainly hammered on the way soulmarks constricted free will and the right to choose and insisted that the government uprooted the entire nation to free the people.  
It wasn't much of a surprise to anyone that Darcy took the first chance she got to get out.

  
*********

  
_"Why is he bleeding?"_  
_"Because he's an idiot"_  
_"I didn't know that idiocy caused people to just start spontaneously bleeding from their nose."_  
_"I think it's a new phenomenon."_

 

One of Darcy’s biggest talents was making others feel comfortable. Whether that be to give Tony as much back as she got, the little touches she gave Bruce to show that she wasn’t afraid or the trust she placed into Clint and Natasha as she turned her back to them, slept near them and just showed herself vulnerable to them. So when Captain America’s best friend-turned-assassin arrived at the Tower, tense and wary, she allowed him to follow her around, showed him how she prepared the food and handed him blankets and mugs with tea or hot chocolate whenever it seemed he needed them. She just never actually spoke to him.

 

********

  
It took months, for James, as he wanted to be called these days, to retain some of his self. Not just getting back memories and processing them, both from before and after his fall, but also simply accepting that he was human, that he was a person, with likes and dislikes, and that he was allowed to say yes and no. In the beginning, when he was suspicious and slightly scared of everything, he latched onto Darcy Lewis, a seemingly normal and weak woman who lived with a lot of dangerous people. Seemingly, of course, because he could not believe that she did not have secrets, that she did not have a talent why they kept her around. She had to be an asset to the man on the bridge in some way, or they would have eliminated her long ago.

  
However, as he shadowed her whenever he wasn’t in therapy, he discovered that maybe she was more of a handler than the Captain was. While the man did take the lead in tactical situations, she was the one who took care of all of the assets, which started to include him. Strangely enough, whenever he started on that trail of thought, of him being an asset again, just with a different handler, she handed him a mug with a warm and good tasting drink, or laid a blanket over him if he was sitting down. For a while, he almost believed that she was a telepath, and that that was the reason she stayed around.

  
But his mind progressed and he began to see that she was just someone who took care of others, no matter the angers involved. There were no handlers at the Avengers, no assets and no punishments for not following orders to the letter. Steve lead the team during missions, but outside of that, each of them did whatever they wanted and was on their own, were it not for Darcy Lewis. His intel told him that she used to be the intern and later assistant to Jane Foster, astrophysicist and girlfriend of the alien Thor, who was off world at the moment. When they arrived at the Tower at the insistence of Stark however, she first also started caring for the other scientists, which included Stark himself and the Hulk, before she slowly was accepted by the whole team and made sure after each mission that everyone was okay and cared for.

  
When James Barnes was finally declared a person again, a traumatised person but a person nonetheless, he declared himself a protector of Darcy Lewis. Though he wasn’t cleared to go on missions, he did train, and when the team was out, he made sure to stay near her so nobody could harm her. It became a ritual. Though Darcy didn’t see much of him when everyone was at the Tower, as soon as they left for a mission, he appeared at her side and stayed there until they returned. Normally, that time would be spend in silence, as Darcy baked or knitted and James sat somewhere near or next to her, reading or just watching.

  
********

  
It actually wasn’t until a movie night Darcy organised, more than half a year after they had first met that they actually spoke to each other.  
James was just arriving at the common room, when he heard a crash and saw Steve lying on the ground, his nose bleeding as Darcy stood above him, pan still in hand.

  
“Why is he bleeding?” he asked, trying his best not to laugh

.  
“Because he’s an idiot.” Darcy replied bitterly, walking back to the kitchen to put back the pan.  
"I didn't know that idiocy caused people to just start spontaneously bleeding from their nose."

  
“I think it’s a new phenomenon. The idiot here-“ Darcy stepped over Steve towards the couch, where the others were looking on with interest, “ate all of the marshmallows, despite the fact that I’ve told him plenty of times alrea-“ Darcy froze, before slowly turning towards James. “That was the first time you’ve ever spoken to me.”

  
“Yes.” James answered, before he too realised what had happened. “And you said something to me for the first time too…”

  
“Oh my god, Darcy?!”Jane said, realising what Darcy’s words were. “Did he just?”

  
“Yup.” Darcy answered, slowly walking towards him, until she almost touched him. “Hey, soulmate, nice to meet you.”

  
“Nice to meet you too, doll.” James replied with a grin, before he lowered his head to meet her lips.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first completed work I've ever posted ever and I really want to thank my dearest friend @SimplySolace, who not only beta-ed tis work but also encouraged me to write this whole thing and actually finish it.
> 
> I didn't specify where their soulmarks are exactly, because I honestly have not headcanon for it, so feel free to imagine!
> 
> Either way, I hope you liked it!


End file.
